As the work of the coordinating committee on the recovery of outstanding ground rents of N29,506,643,943.98 owed the FCT Administration (FCTA) gathers momentum, a revelation has emerged that property owners in the highbrow areas of Asokoro, Industrial Area II and Maitama are the highest debtors; owing 10.67, 9.43 and 9.29 per cent respectively of the total sum.
The committee is already fine tuning legal documentation to take all property owners who have failed to pay despite repeated warnings to court for revocation or outright forfeiture.
In a statement by Muhammad Hamzat Sule, Director, Information and Communication, FCT/Chairman, Media and Publicity Sub-Committee, said the committee, in the process of doing its work, discovered that bulk of the debtors were titleholders in Asokoro, Industrial Area II and Maitama districts, highbrow areas in the nation’s capital city, Abuja.
Property owners in Asokoro alone constitute 10.67 per cent of the ground rents defaulters, while the titleholders in Industrial Area II and Maitama comprise 9.43 and 9.29 per cent respectively.
Recall that the FCT Permanent Secretary, Mr Adesola Olusade, recently inaugurated a debt recovery committee with the mandate to recover the outstanding debts owed the FCTA, with particular interest in ground rents and other sundry fees in the land administration department, as well as other stakeholder departments.
Property owners in other districts such as Central Business District, Industrial Area I and Extension, as well as Wuse I and II are owing the administration 8.21 per cent, 5.18 per cent, 5.1 per cent and 4.81 per cent respectively of the total debt.
Titleholders in Garki I and II, Katampe and Jabi districts are in default of 3.4 per cent, 3 per cent, 2.21 per cent and 2.15 per cent respectively.
Property owners in other districts like Kukwaba, Gwarinpa I, Gudu, Kado, Karmo, Katampe Extention, Utako, Mabushi, Durumi, Daki-Biyu, Guzape, Jahi, Dutse Wuye and Institutions and Research are owing various degrees of percentages.
Meanwhile, the committee has since been divided into sub-committees of publicity, administration, legal and finance for effective and diligent execution of its mandate.